‘You may relax, Vastra.
You have done no wrong.’
He paused collecting his thoughts.
‘In part, it was my idea as well, if it must be said. I must also admit that the Doctor was most
convincing in suggesting it. He actually
assumed you would get curious and seek out what had fallen from the sky that
day. When you did not, it was a surprise
to all of us…a welcome one, I might add, as the Doctor has promised us a
delicacy from your time he calls ‘Yorkshire pudding’ as our reward for being
correct in wagering you would swim, not search.’
If Vastra could have blushed, she would have. The feeling soon passed, followed by one of
light anger. She tried to summon all her
strength to speak recriminatingly, but all that came out was weak dissent.
‘So I was being sent out as a spy?’
Taisei smiled. ‘Not
precisely. If you did choose to go
looking, of course, any information you brought back would have been most
helpful. However, knowing what we do
now, it was perhaps best that you did not go looking. After all…’
He paused, and then pointed at the bandages that still
wrapped her arms and covered a part of her face. She took his meaning immediately. Had I gone looking, I would have run into
them alone…and we would not be having this conversation right now. In fact, it is likely that after they were
finished with me, the entire city would be in danger.
She shuddered at the thought.
‘At the same time,’ the Prince continued, ‘having you go to
the pool was in some ways not quite a good idea…and if I had been thinking of
it at the time, I would have denied their suggestion and offered other
accommodations. I understand it raised a
number of uncomfortable questions for you.’
Vastra nodded. ‘That
building at the centre of the lake…’
The Prince nodded.
‘You mean the white shrine on the island, I presume.’
Vastra nodded in agreement.
‘And then there is the small matter of the statue. What is a statue of the Doctor doing here?’
Prince Taisei stood and walked slowly to the window. She watched as he looked both ways cautiously
and, apparently satisfied with what he saw, closed the window’s wooden
shutters. He then walked to the doorway,
looked out, and finally returned to his seat.
‘I hope you will understand my discretion in this matter,
but it is at his request.’
Vastra looked at him through narrowed eyes. ‘Whose?
The Doctor’s?’
The Prince nodded.
‘Go on.’
‘The Doctor is very well known to us. He has come here many times.
One thing has always remained the same…that
blue shrine he travels in. He has
visited many of our kings, back into the depths of our history. Yet no
one speaks his name in public. He has forbidden it…he wants no one to
know
that he has been here. His tales are
told in our books, of course, but those are held closely, for the eyes
of the
King and his advisors only.’
Vastra nodded slowly.
‘Then why was he so visible this time?’
The Prince shook his head.
‘That I do not know.
I suppose had we not been hosts to those…visitors…his silence and
privacy would have remained…such as they are, at least.’
He looked at Vastra.
‘Then, of course, there is the small matter of your presence
here.’
‘Me?’
Taisei nodded.
‘The Doctor has spoken to me in confidence about you. Unlike my people, I do understand that you
are not a dragon. Not as such, at
least. Still, I do agree with the
Doctor’s decision to allow the belief to foster. It gives our people hope that anything might
be overcome.’
‘That still doesn’t say anything about the shrine or the
statue.’
Taisei laughed quietly.
‘That was Tsugu’s idea, of course. Somehow he conceived of it behind the
Doctor’s back and had it built between visits, in tribute to the advice your
friend always offered. He felt it
fitting to be placed where it might remind the royal family that someone was always
watching over them, and when the need was great, they would return.’
He looked down at Vastra and smiled.
‘And so he did. Only
this time, he brought help.’
He noticed Vastra’s eyes had closed, her breathing
slowed. Quietly rising from the simple
chair, he slowly left the room, keeping the windows closed to offer his guest
some respite from the gazing eyes of his people. For the Prince, there were still many
arrangements to be made and things to be organized. For Vastra, a great deal more healing needed
to happen. Both, he felt, would be
better served if they began sooner rather than later.
~~~
Vastra’s eyes opened and she found her room slowly darkening
as the sun set. She slowly rose from her
bed, her body still aching from her earlier exertion, and pulled on fresh robes
which had been left for her. She walked
gingerly toward the great hall, where the Prince and his advisors sat,
preparing to eat. All were silent as she
entered the room, found a seat, and carefully lowered herself to sit. The meal was silent, accompanied only by the
sound of mugs and plates sat back on the table occasionally. She found the silence to be welcome, which
surprised her.
That silence was shattered by the outside doors flying open.
‘Couldn’t wait for me, could you?’
Everyone turned to see the Doctor standing in the doorway, a
half grin on his face. He walked quickly
over to the table.
‘I told you I might be back tonight!’
He looked at everyone, still silent.
‘Oh, well…no matter.
What’s on the menu tonight?’
~~~
The weeks passed slowly.
So it seemed to Vastra, anyway. Part of this, she thought, was due to the
fact that she was still in so much pain and was thus far more limited in what
she was able to do. There were days she found
herself unable to even leave her room, let alone shuffle down to the great hall
to eat with everyone. She had a somewhat
steady stream of visitors who would check in on her, talk to her, and offer to
bring her things. All of that was well
and good, but what she really wanted was to get out of her room and start
feeling like herself again. The Doctor
said it would take time, and that was something she was not accustomed to.
About a week and a half after the funeral, the parents of
the two children she had saved came to visit her. They were effusive in their thanks, offering her
everything they had in repayment for her deeds.
She shook her head, telling them that there was no need for repayment in
any way, that she was only doing what anyone would have done in the same
situation. It took several hours of
argument, but they finally were convinced she would accept nothing for what she
did, and walked from her room in even more awe of her selflessness and
sacrifice. Those words spread quickly
through the city, and when she was finally able to get up and outside, she was
surprised to see the reverence people looked at her with.
On one of these walks, she turned to the Doctor.
‘Why are they acting like this?’
The Doctor smiled.
‘Well, for one thing, you fought off an entire platoon of
warriors single handily. It’s the stuff
of legend, really. For another, you were
willing to put yourself between two small children and impending doom without a
thought…also the stuff of legend.’
He ran his hand through his hair before continuing.
‘Finally, there’s the small fact that you refused any kind
of reward for your actions.’
Vastra turned to look at him.
‘Why should I accept a reward for doing the right thing?’
‘Why indeed!’ The
Doctor laughed. ‘But that’s the thing,
Vastra…for some people…maybe even a lot of people, or most people, for that
matter…the right thing only ever gets done when there’s some kind of personal
reward or involvement. Otherwise people
are more than willing to just look the other way, even if someone could get
hurt. Or worse,'
‘All humans are like this, then?’
The Doctor pointed to a small bench near a well. They walked over in silence and sat.
‘No, Vastra. Not all
people are like this. And I would
imagine that your people were no different in that regard.’
She looked at him in shock.
‘How dare…’
‘Think about it.’
And so she did. She
thought about everything she had seen growing up and realized that the Doctor
was right. And the realization shocked
her.
The Doctor wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She stiffened for a moment in surprise, but
soon relaxed.
‘Not so different in the end, hmm?’
She shook her head.
‘No, not really.’
They sat there together in silence, watching people pass by,
watching children playing in the street, watching families come to the well
with buckets to carry water back to their homes.
‘So what happens next, Doctor?’
The Doctor turned on the bench to face her. He took her hands in his and looked her
firmly in the eyes.
‘Well, for starters, we stay until the coronation of King
Taisei. That will give you enough time
to finish healing and recovering. After
that, we’ll head back to your time, and we’ll make sure that everything is
safe. Then I’ll have to head back to
meet up with my friends Amy and Rory, and…’
‘What about me, Doctor?’
The Doctor’s glance dropped for a few moments.